Companies and Intellectual Property Commission

Acts

CIPC's Legislative Mandate

CIPC administers all or parts of fifteen (15) pieces of legislation relating to corporate and intellectual property regulation. Its mandate encompasses companies, close corporations, co-operatives, trade marks, patents, designs, aspects of copyright legislation and enforcement of rules and regulations in most of these areas of law. CIPC's primary institutional mandate is derived from the Companies Act, 2008, which establishes CIPC as a juristic person.

South Africa is a member of a number of important Treaties and Agreements and ensuring compliance with South Africa's obligations in terms of these Treaties or Agreements. CIPC administers these treaties on behalf of South Africa. These Treaties and Agreements include the:

Paris Convention;

Patent Co-operation Treaty

Berne Convention

Budapest Treaty; and the

TRIPS Agreement

It is anticipated that South Africa will conclude accession to the Hague Agreement and the Madrid Protocol in the near future, which will require of CIPC to administer those Treaties as well.

The CIPC therefore has a substantial legislative compliance role in diverse areas of law. The mandate can be summarized as the registration of corporate entities, the protection of their identity and reputation and the regulation of their conduct and disclosure, as well as the registration and protection of intellectual property rights.

While registration is at the heart of the mandate, it must serve a higher purpose and contribute to the broader policy context. This is the challenge that has confronted corporate and intellectual property registries around the world, as many have struggled to remain economically relevant. For that reason, the CIPC has paid particular attention to its policy context in order to gain an understanding of its broader mandate.